Iranian.com

Iranian.com, known also as The Iranian and the Iranian Times is an online English and Persian language magazine, blog and discussion forum founded in July 1995 by the journalist Jahanshah Javid, who remains its current publisher/editor/moderator.

According to its website, "Iranian.com is the largest online community for Iranians residing in North America. With more than 620,000 unique visitors and nearly 6.5 million page views per month (March 2007 stats)."

Founder and editor Jahanshah Javid explains the site's motto, "Nothing is Sacred" as being " to a great extent, a response to the situation in Iran. In Iran you cannot write an article saying Ayatollah Khomeini was a hateful man who brought misery to millions, for instance. You cannot say Velayate Faqih is incompatible with democracy. You cannot demand the separation of mosque and state. You cannot defend the rights of Bahais to practice their faith."

"In Iran, the list of no-can-dos is endless. Why can't you? Because these issues are "sacred", because Islam says so, because the Supreme Leader says so, because ayatollah so-and-so says so, because the hezbollah say so. Because our culture says so."

Referring to the content of the site, Jahanshah Javid states that "There are no taboos or sacred cows, as far as I'm concerned. You want to say how great the Shah was? Go ahead. You want to make fun of Reza Pahlavi? Okay. You want to say Khatami is a fraud? Fine. You want to say the Bahai faith is better than Islam? Sure. You want to say the Bahai faith is just like any other organized religion? Sure. You want to write about sex? I have no problem with that."

Staff Members
"Born in Abadan, Iran, Javid began his journalism career as a translator for the Iranian state news agency IRNA in 1981. His experience spans the print media to television and radio, including serving as the BBC Persian Service Correspondent in Washington, DC. Jahanshah has a B.A. in Communications and Media Studies from Hunter College in New York City. He recently moved from the San Francisco Bay Area where he lived for more than ten years and is currently traveling."
 * Jahanshah Javid, PUBLISHER

"Bianca is currently an ERISA and Employee Benefits Consultant and Lecturer. She has written extensively on ERISA and retirement matters and is a frequent contributor to various publications. She served as the Chief Financial Officer at International Alliance in Service and Education in the San Francisco Bay Area from 2000-2008. She holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law, a Masters of Arts in International Relations and Public Policy and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Legal Studies from University of California, Berkeley."
 * Bianca Zahrai, Esq, BUSINESS MANAGER

"Based in Northern California, Foaad is a veteran software engineer and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Computer Science. He's also a writer, peace organizer and a former campaign manager. He serves on the US Board of Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII)."
 * Foaad Khosmood, CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER

Based in San Francisco, CA, Ardalan is a designer/art director at Tact Design (founded by Ardalan in 2000) providing services ranging from logo and identity design to websites and promotional collateral. He has also co-founded (with Shadi Yousefian) a video production company specializing in music videos.
 * Ardalan Payvar, GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Site Usage Statistics and Demographics
According to the site, "Users are spread across the globe, though 75%-80% live in North America. There is a healthy mix of male and female users (55:45), primarily in the 25 - 44 years age group."


 * 200,000+ unique users a month
 * 80% US/Canadian
 * 40% Age 25-35
 * 70% male
 * 40% Age 25-35
 * 50% income above $60K
 * More than 90% Iranian
 * 90,000 page views per day.

Current Site Advertisers

 * Sprint
 * Asia Society
 * World Quest Networks
 * US Transcom
 * World Singles Networks
 * Global Phone

Awards
In 2006 the site was nominated for the "Award of Excellence in Media Electronic Magazine (Best Contribution to Freedom of Speech) in the 2nd Annual Persian "Persian Golden Lioness Award" category from the International Further Studies Institute(IFSI) at The World Academy of Arts, Literature, and Media (WAALM)

Contacts

 * times AT iranian.com
 * Jahanshah Javid: jj At iranian.com
 * Website: http://www.iranian.com/

Resources and articles

 * Frequently asked questions about iranian.com, answered by Jahanshah Javid, accessed April 7, 2009.
 * BBC Interview with Jahanshah Javid (in Persian), accessed April 7, 2009.
 * About Jahanshah Javid, accessed April 7, 2009.

Related Sourcewatch articles

 * Jahanshah Javid